Don't call us Children
by AyaAshryver
Summary: All their lives, Scarlett, Maria and Peter have been shunted around, bullied and not taken seriously. Joining the Avengers was a dream come true, but still, they were treated like kids. So they formed an alliance. 14-year-old Scarlett Johnsen, the engineering guru, with a habit of blowing things up. 15-year-old Maria Carbonell (or Stark, depending who you ask), code master, with an
1. Introduction

This was originally written on Quotev

but I've decided to post it here.

All their lives, Scarlett, Maria and Peter have been shunted around, bullied and not taken seriously. Joining the Avengers was a dream come true, but still, they were treated like kids. So they formed an alliance. 14-year-old Scarlett Johnsen, the engineering guru, with a habit of blowing things up. 15-year-old Maria Carbonell (or Stark, depending who you ask), code master, with an unhealthy obsession with murderous AI, and Peter Parker, the scientist with a reputation for being creepy. But darkness falls, when Scarlett's evil sister, Evangeline rises with newfound powers, intent on destroying her. The Avengers can no longer protect them. It's up to Scarlett and her team to deafeat a villain with unfathomable powers.


	2. Character Profiles

SCARLETT

Full name: Scarlett Elizabeth Johnsen

Nicknames: Scar, Twig

Age: (in this book): 14-15

Eye Colour: Green

Hair Colour: Orangey red

Birthday: 3rd of August 2001

Special Talents: Scarlett is amazing at hide and seek (although this is obsolete against Maria) and engineering. (She designed an automatic Pop-tart machine for Thor)

Superhero name: Wolf

Powers: Enhanced senses, smell, hear, see and feel 10x more than a normal human. However, this leads to her weakness, enhanced feeling means she can feel pain 10x more than a normal human. Scarlett also has super speed, but ot as much as Pietro or Quicksilver. Scarlett is also quite smart.

Suit: Scarlett designed the suit to absorb impact and cushion blows to reduce pain. The suit is like spandex, bullet proof, and absorbs impact. Scarlett designed the material herself. It fits like the Iron Spider suit from Infinity War, with a similar mask. The whole suit is white, with silver and gold swirls reaching from her feet to her mask on the sides, and down her arms.

Weapons: Scarlett uses a small gold dagger which she got for her 13th birthday. She also later designs a series of nano-bots, like what Hiro designed in Big Hero Six. They also respond to the headband she wears, as well as her mask. Scarlett often designs small machines for fights, quite often made out of surrounding pieces.

Fighting Style: Scarlett loves gymnastics and parkour and this shows in her fighting style. It's hard to describe, but she uses those skills in her fights.

* * *

My oldest memory is of the sky. Mother Nature had laid down her blanket of silent night, stars speckling the cool blackness like dust on a floor. Then there was a loud crash, and I was whisked away.

I remember running under Mother Nature's blanket once more, but it was no longer serene. It was cold and harsh, nothing like home. The stars had hidden, scared by the harsh lights of a city. And then a figure. Wearing blackness, melting into the night.

"I love you Scare-bear" she whispered, then dissapeared.

And then Tony found me. Almost stepped on me...

Growing up with Iron-Man wants to make you a hero. So, when I was 7, I sneaked into Tony's lab and created a gauntlet. And that was the start of the hero, Wolf. (After Tony's initial panic attack, of course)

MARIA

Full name: Maria Natalia Carbonell Stark

Nicknames: Mia, Mari, Alia (only very occasionally)

Age: (in this book): 14-15

Eye Colour: Blue, slightly slanted

Hair Colour: Golden Brown

Birthday: 1st of January 2001 (Maria was the first baby born in the USA in 2001)

Special Talents: Maria can juggle seven balls at once, and she is surprisingly good at sport. She plays violin. She is also super good at hair. Don't ask me why, but she just it.

Superhero name: Still undecided (by us, and by Maria), but she is most like a gecko.

Powers: Maria has limited flight abilities, but she can only fly while in phase. She can also phase through objects (like Vision), which allows her to become mostly invisible, and 'teleport' short distances within a certain radius. She can also focus blasts of her phasing energy through her hands. However, her abilities need time to recharge, depending on how much she uses them. 'Teleporting' takes the most out of her, especially over larger distances.

Suit: Maria's suit is not skintight, it's more like Captain Marvel's. It is designed to phase with her, and has threads of a vibranium alloy to help this happen. It is two-toned in shades of grey, with black boots and gloves. Her gloves and boots have various settings to adapt to different situations. In the centre of her chest is a small blue gecko symbol that lights up depending on how much power she's amassed. The same symbol is on her back, but bigger, and is equipped with a parachute and a small weapons equipped spy drone. Her mask has the gecko symbols overlapping on it.

Weapons: Phase Blasts, Spy Drone.

Fighting Style: Maria's intelligence really pays off in battle situations, as she is somehow able to apply last week's English lesson to the situation at hand, or use her maths textbook to rig an elaborate trap...

* * *

My parents' marriage was never destined to work out from the beginning. At first glance, nothing was wrong. But gain level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D clearance, and suddenly, you see the truth. Every little detail. My mom was often away on top secret, highly classified missions, and I think that really grated on my dad. It even does for me, even though I know who she really is. I guess my dad just got fed up of all the secrets and lies and left. He and Mom were fighting a lot around that time as well, so after an agonizing year of shuffling around, they went to court and filed for divorce.

I was three at the time.

I've sorta kept in contact with my dad, but it's hard to pretend you're someone you're not.


	3. What the! - 3rd Person

A small girl panted as she ran through busy streets, hidden by the darkness of the night. She was dressed in midnight black clothes. A small section of her fiery orange hair sticking out of the hoodie was the only visable colour. Panting, the child looked up, finally having reached her destination. _Stark Tower. _The child glanced at the basket she was carrying.  
"You'll be safe here Scarlett." She whispered. She set the basket down and kissed the small baby. A tuft of flaming red hair peeked through the pale pink blanket, accomponied by emerald-green eyes. The baby cooed. The child smiled at her sister.

"I love you Scare-bear." she whispered before disappearing into the night.

* * *

In the Morning

* * *

Tony sighed as he walked over to the door. He opened it and nearly stepped on a basket.

"What the-" He stopped suddenly, eyes widening in fear. A small note was attached to the basket.

_To Mr Stark,_

_My name is Eileen Johnsen, we were friends as kids. Remember how I saved you from the bully, Grunt when we were kids? You haven't paid my debt back, but now is your chance. I need you to protect my daughter, Scarlett, from her sister Evangeline. She will stop at nothing to kill her. Scarlett is only a year old, and we can't protect her. Please Tony. Please look after her._

He stiffened and looked at the basket. A small baby with fiery orange hair and glimmering green eyes was sitting there. He sighed and took her inside. Opening the bundle up, he saw a young child, shivering from the cold. Tony picked her up, wanting to take her into his lab to check her health. The child was unusually light, and had the sweetest face he had ever seen. The baby reached out and pulled his nose. Her eyes glittered and shimmered like jewels. She cooed and laughed. Tony's heart melted.

"Guess I'm keeping you." He muttered. The baby cooed in agreement.

"So your name's Scarlett. Better than calling you Baby." he muttered. "Pepper's going to kill me."

* * *

8 years later

* * *

Nine year old Scarlett zoomed around with her toy sword. Maria was playing pirate with her, and Nat was chilling on the couch making sure Scarlett didn't kill herself, or Maria. Scarlett ran to her old playmate, grinning broadly.

" I suspect fowl play" she claimed.

Maria stood, confused. "What's that supposed to mean? That I'm a bird?"

Scarlett shrugged.

"I dunno. Uncle Clint said that."

"Ohh."

Nat laughed. "Okay munchkin, that's enough."

Scarlett frowned. "Awww.."

Nat raised an eyebrow at Clint, who was doing his best puppy eyes from across the room. "We'll watch a movie until Daddy comes home."

Scarlett squealed and ran to the movie room, Maria following suit.

Laughing, Nat followed. Scarlett was about to enter the door, when a loud noise came, shaking the tower. Scarlett amd Maria whimpered and ran to Nat, who looked quite appalled to have two nine year olds attached to her leg, whimpering in fear.

Nat's watch scanner began beeping loudly.

"Ok, kids, we're going to have to put off that movie."

* * *

Scarlett paced in ever-widening circles inside her room, bored and scared at the same time. She had just plopped herself in her extremely large bean bag when the building shook again, and a laugh that shook through her memory resonated through the tower.

Grabbing her nerf rebel bow and arrow (a gift from clint), her nerf gun (from Nat) and water balloons (from Thor, claiming "tis a thing earth children like") she rushes towards the secret door in her cupboard that led to her father's room, in case she had nightmares. Really, she used it for pranks and hiding things. Squeezing past the random junk that she'd thrown in the passage over the years, she managed to make it to the other side, which opened into Tony's wardrobe. She could see through the cracks in the wooden door that her dad was sitting on his bed with a blank stare, which was unusual for him.

Behind Tony, she could see a tall female figure rummaging through the attached bathroom. Scarlett cocked her nerf gun and shot at the person, straight in the buttocks. Scarlett grinned as she hit the bullseye. Crouching behind a rather large mound of stuffed animals, she instructed the AI to record her room, the secret cupboard and Tony's room. Scarlett stiffened as a spider ran across her foot. She glanced up to see the figure prowling closer. Gulping, Scarlett looked around, and spotted the water balloon dispenser she had made with Maria on her 6th birthday. She crawled quickly over, loaded it up, and aimed to where the figure's face would be. Grabbing her gun, she loaded it with bullets, and grabbed several arrows for her bow. Silently praying that Clint's archery lesson would pay off, Scarlett loaded the bow, and aimed it at the persons face.

Scarlett simpered. Her father stood before her, but he wasn't himself. His eyes were completely blue. Mustering all her strength, Scarlett fired her bow, and activated the water balloon dispenser. She ran back to her room, whipping around and cocking the nerf gun. Tony crept through the door, soaking wet.  
"Come out child. You can't hide forever." hissed a low dry voice.

* * *

Tony Stark's sister Lena, who hated him, had still decided to helphe'd brought Scarlett directly to Tony's _supposedly_ private house, along with her six-year-old daughter, Maria, whom he hadn't seen in ages.

Almost immediately, Maria and Scarlett decided that they hated each other. As **normal** six-year-olds do. Ten minutes later, one of Tony's prototype gauntlets was missing, and Maria and Scarlett were pummeling each other.

"It was my TOY!"

"NO. MY MOMMY SAID FOR YOU TO SHARE!"

"YOU STILL BROKE MY BARBIE!"

The argument only receeded when Tony got tired, drove to Walmart and bought new toys for them both.

Scarlett looked sad when he handed her new iron man.

"I'm sorry for yelling, and punching you with a chair and shooting you with my nerf gun." she muttered.

Tony stared at Lena, confused. She merely shrugged.

"She has a good aim." she remarked drily.

"And I'm sorry for breaking your iron man, trying to shoot you with the gauntlet and saying yelling stuff." Maria apologised.

"That's okay. Do you wanna watch a movie with me and Auntie Nat?"

"Ooohh! Yes please!"

"Imma go ask Auntie Nat."

"I'll come with you."

Tony smiled as the pair walked off, arm in arm, to find Nat.  
"So, Maria tried shooting my daughter? With _my_ gauntlet?" he muttered looking down at his coffee. "How did she even work out how to use it?

**_"I told her, sir," _**a loud voice came from the ceiling. **_"She said please."_**

Tony looked extremely irritated that his AI butler had given away his secrets to his seven year old niece.

Lena pursed her lips, shaking her head. "Does Scarlett know?"

"Know what? No, she doesn't know how to use my gauntlet. She'd probably blow up the tower. She has a habit of blowing things up."

"No, you duh brain. Does she know that you're not her actual father. That you adopted her. As a debt, that too."

"No. She's too young. I don't want her life to be tainted by the fact she's adopted."

"Guess so." she replied. "Your daughter is a good child, just... very... playful"

Tony chuckled.

"You could say so."

* * *

"Come out child. You can't hide forever." hissed a low dry voice.

Scarlett was violently jerked back into reality.

"Come here." the voice said. Scarlett could feel herself walking towards the voice. She tried to backpedal, but it was as if her feet had a mind of their own.

"No." She growled, jerking out of her trance. She lept over to the cupboard, and extracted the water-balloon dispenser, and aimed it at Tony's face. She started it up and faltered as the water hit her father. A strange wispy figure escaped from Tony's body. Scarlett gasped as Tony crumpled on the floor, unconcious. The figure laughed, and the building shook. Memories swept through Scarlett, searing her insides. The thing laughed.

"Nobody knows how to defeat EVA." the thing snarled. "Nobody knoows how to defeat **MIND CONTROL**.."

Suddenly a white beam came from behind Scarlett and singed her shirt. EVA fell out of the window, screaming, "I WILL BE BACK!"

Scarlett whipped around to see Maria, holding the stolen gauntlet in a pose typical of Tony. Fear creased her face.

"Who was that?" she whispered.

Scarlett shrugged, running to check her father was okay. Sighing with relief, she turned around.

"I don't know. But daddy has some explaining to do."

She stepped over, unlocked the door and walked to Nat, who promptly hugged her.

"Can we watch that movie, now that Maria is here?" Scarlett whipered.

"Yeah! In celebration of me defeating whatever it was!" Clint said.

Nat facepalmed.


	4. A very usual morning - Scarlett

_I smile. This could change the world. I connect the wires, and wait for the spark. The spark that would change the world. I grinned as I glimpsed the metal sparking-_

"WAKE UP TWIIGG!" a loud voice exclaims.

I groan and get up. My best friend, Grace is sitting on my bed. Groaning, I get up.

"Really? I was about to change the world!" I groaned. Of course my best friend would wake me up midway through my dream on my 14th birthday.

"Looooookkkk at aaaaaaaaaaallll of the preeeesssseennnnnnntssss!"

"Grace? Are you ok?" I ask groggily.

"Mom said we could have ice-cream for breakfast, you know, because its your BIIIIIIIIIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

"My **dad** also said I have to be at the tower by 9. So let's grab an ice-cream from Fillip on the way."

"FIIINE. But you have to open my present first!"

Grinning, I changed into my favourite jeans and t-shirt combo, and walked outside.

I screamed as Grace attacked me with a present the size of my face.

"Open It!" she squealed.

I prised open the sparkly gold wrapping paper, to reveal a set of cat-ear headbands, a pair of socks with a wolf, with sweet little ears that peeked out the top and a cute little button nose at the toes.

"It's perfect!" I said. "But we need to get moving, or else dad will **kill **us."

She grinned and shouldered her bag.

"Lets go!"

* * *

I grin and wave to Fillip.

"Hey Fillip, just the usual! But make mine double." I said.

"One double scoop of Marshmallow Caramel and Mint Choc Chip ice-cream and a vanilla cone with star sprinkles coming up!" He said, handing me and Grace the ice-creams.

The girl behind us in line looks at me though her sunglasses like my new headband is a fashion crime. What really takes me by surprise is her Stark Industries T-shirt and expensive jeans and shoes. Girls with money like that don't usually hang around here. I feel like she can see right through me.

When Grace calls, "Scarlett, we need to go!" she looks even more confused, and I feel like I know her from somewhere. Like she was part of my past. Shaking my head, I turn around and jog to meet up with Grace.

I don't even notice the letter she slips into my backpack.

* * *

I grin as Clint sets the candles on fire with a well aimed arrow. The rest of day seems to blur in a series of laughter, swimming and games. At last, evening comes, all my school friends are gone and it's time to open presents.

Clint passes me a small box, the size of my palm. I open it to reveal a beautiful necklace with a little arrow pendant. I laugh and hug him tightly. Then Nat set down a rather large box. I opened it cautiously and saw a beautiful gold knife, with gorgeous swirls bordering the hilt.

"Now that you're a teenager. you need to be able to protect yourself." She whispered. I noticed she was hiding it from Tony's view.

"Не дай ему увидеть. Он такой параноик." (Don't let him see. He's so paranoid.) Nat muttered under her breath.

I laughed, being able to understand most of what she was saying. Nat had been teaching me Russian since I could talk.

Next was a science set from Bruce, a handball from Thor, a card saying 'Happy 11th Birthday, love Tony (of course he got the wrong card) with a 'Tony Stark Action Figure with Real Working Repulsors! TM' plus a huge pile of old comics from Steve. Most surprising, however, is the letter addressed to me, which fell out of my goodie bag.

_To Scarlett Elizabeth Johnsen,_

_Congratulations on being accepted to Midtown School of Science and Technology for ninth grade. Your orientation day is the 1st of September, alongside the rest of the school. Please arrive promptly at 9 am in casual clothes that sport can be completed in. You will have an escort for the day who will be in your grade._

_We hope to see you there._

* * *

I yawn as I lounge on the couch, reading the comic books Steve got me. Nat's cooking spaghetti bolognese for dinner and Tony is doing something in his lab. The comics are actually really interesting. The one I'm reading is about a guy called Bruce Wayne who, after witnessing his parents die, became the superhero called Batman. I especially like the Joker though. I can relate to him a lot... I really want his laughing poison. Maybe I'll ask Bruce. (haha. Dr. Banner I mean.)

My phone lights up as I receive a text from Grace.

**Grace: **_Hey Scar! Happy Birthday, can't wait to see u tom in schoooooool!_

I frown. I still hadn't told any of my friends I was accepted to Midtown. I opened the group chat. My finger hovered over the keypad. I hesitated and finally typed a message and clicked send.

**Scarlett: **_Yeah. Can't wait. _

I just can't wait for the last week of school at Downtown Middle for the Academically Gifted. (Not really)


	5. Orientation Day - Maria

I've never been so bored in my life.

Well, maybe the time I finished a full hour early in my entrance exam to this school. I just sat there drawing on my scrap paper. By the end of the exam, there was no white left on my paper that had been folded and re-folded trillions of times. Not kidding.

And now I'm stuck escorting one of the new students coming into freshman year. Again, cue the boredom of waiting.

Oh wait, they're calling me.

My buddy must have finally arrived.

* * *

Her curly auburn hair frames her face in tumbling strands of red, orange and gold. She walks confidently, and her clothes suit her perfectly. A crisp black blazer, on a dark black shirt, with jeans that look like they were made directly from sunlight. Her shoes are impeccably clean, with not a scuff mark in sight.

I officially regret my wardrobe choice of my Midtown t-shirt and my old jeans. So what? I'm a student ambassador wearing the school logo. What else was I supposed to wear, a designer outfit?

Well, obviously _someone _didn't get the memo. Not that I'm jealous. How childish would that be?

She looked at me with those piercing green eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Maria" she said, pausing and saying my name like it was something feral she had eaten.

"Scarlett." I mutter coldly. Since when did the person I used to know wear blazers? Scarlett had preferred old jeans and $5 walmart t-shirts.

"It's boiling." she complained.

"Well, it's not like I can control the weather."

"I didn't ask you to. I hate this blazer. It's so itchy." She chucked her blazer in her bag, revealing a stupid T-shirt of 2 cats dancing. I grin internally at the sight of the old Scarlett.

"Why did you wear it then?"

"It was supposed to look good!"

Sighing, I tell her, "Let's just get on with the tour."

* * *

"Principal's office, vice principal's office, main admin, the 'I'm in Major Trouble Chair',"

"What was that?"

"The 'I'm in Major Trouble Chair', Scarlett. Just hope that you never have to sit in it."

"Have you?"

"Stop asking questions, Scarlett. We need to hurry up." I mutter. Scarlett grins and I can already tell she's thinking of all the ways to get in it.

* * *

So that tour was...well...interesting. Scarlett is currently running granny shuffling her way through 3 laps of the oval where we're doing activities for talking back to the senior athletics coach,, who hates the world and everyone in it. Not kidding.

"She's hopeless." my friend Michelle whispers in my ear drily, making me jump.

"MJ! I thought you told me you'd stop doing that!" I whisper back behind my hand.

"Sorry, but I had to. She's hopeless at that, Mari, she's only halfway through her first lap."

"Second." I correct.

"Whatever, Mari. Isn't she your buddy?"

"Yeah. But to be honest, I've seen her with sugar. She'd be able to qualify for the Olympics if she could run like that normally."

MJ snorted.

"How do you even know her?" she questioned.

"I've seen her at Fillip's Ice-Cream Stand."

"Isn't that the one in the park?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter that much. Fillip's ice-cream is the best in Queens."

By this point, I am exhausted and I feel like punching Flash, because he tripped Scarlett into the mud.

"Черт " I hear her say quietly. She kicks Flash **hard **in the shin and continues to run granny shuffle.

This proves that she is the Scarlett I used to know, the one who, when Nat refused to teach her to swear in Russian, taught herself. The one who doesn't like being crossed. The girl who blackmailed Tony Stark himself.

The girl who used to be my best friend.

* * *

I'm standing at the start line of the 800 metre track, with Flash Thompson two lanes across.

_"It's just a stupid bet, Mari" _I tell myself. _"Keep in control. You can beat him."_

MJ yells "Ready, set, GO" and we're off. We're neck and neck until the third corner, where I pull ahead. As I pound over the finish line, it's my turn to swear in Russian to the backdrop of a huge cheer coming up from MJ, Scarlett, Peter Parker and the rest of my friends.

Flash is still running.

* * *

Normally,_ if_ I was normal, I'd be happy.

But I had no control over what I just did.

As if my body took over from my brain.

As if a beast inside unleashed itself.

I don't even know how it happened.

It was like I _changed._

* * *

My friends are laughing and smiling. Scarlett especially.

_"She better be. It was her fault I got into this mess in the first place. She kicked Flash."_

Only MJ seems to care if I'm okay. She puts my arm around her shoulders and gently helps me to the toilet block, where I barely make it to a cubicle in time before I retch, spilling the contents of my stomach into the toilet bowl.

Over and over, the contents of my stomach are emptied into the toilet, until I feel like the next thing to come out will be my stomach itself. Then it stops, and I sit down on the bench. Never squeamish, MJ wipes the toilet rim and flushes it, so there are no signs of any vomit. She helps me walk out of the block, back to my supporters.

"Maria! Are you alright?" Scarlett bounds up to us.

"I'm okay, I just needed the toilet."

* * *

Back home, I'm on my bed FaceTiming my friend Harley.*

"Mari, it's fine. They all knew you were faster than Flash."

"But seriously, not _that _fast, Harley. What if Tony found out?"

"Then don't tell him. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Not sure. Mom didn't throw a fit, but she's seen a lot worse."

"Fine. Mari, my mom's calling me for dinner now, I have to go."

"Okay, bye then. I need to do some wallowing in self-pity before I go to bed, anyway."

* * *

My _pitiful_ attempt at a gratitude journal (because Mom said I had to):

That Mom's not away on a mission

MJ

Taco Bell

That my shoes didn't get worn through during the race with Flash

Chocolate

My bed

Wallowing in self pity

* * *

*Harley is the kid from Iron Man 3. Remember him?


	6. Ghosts of Birthdays Past - Scarlett

I'm rummaging through one of the lower floors of the Avengers Tower, trying to find a spare blanket. I'm really distracted though and I don't notice that Tony is standing behind me. He's holding a brightly wrapped present, and he extends it to me, saying,

"I wanted to give this to you on your birthday, Scar, but it wasn't finished yet."

I tear into the wrapping, revealing a thick black photo album. As I open it gingerly, the first picture I see is of a toddler with flaming orange hair giggling waving around a Wonder plushie with an inbuilt night light. The exact same Iron-Man plushie that's sitting on my bed (or the floor) right now. The **EXACT **same one I got for my second birthday. My jaw drops.

"No way." I mutter. Tony laughed.

"You were obsessed with that plushie. You cried for a full 5 hours when we took it away to get it cleaned."

"Thanks Dad! It's awesome! I'm gonna go to my room and check it out."

* * *

I sink into my giant fluffy bed, eager to dig into the album. It turns out the picture I saw was actually on the third page. I'm confused when I see the first picture. It's of a guy with his arms around two girls. Shocked, I realise that the guy is a younger version of my dad, Tony Stark and that the girl to his left is my aunt Lena. I still don't know who the other girl with orange hair is, but she looks freakily like me. Under it is a photo of Dad holding me as a baby, and Aunt Lena holding a small baby with dirty blonde hair. My jaw drops as I realise it's Maria. MARIA CARBONELL. THE SAME FRICKIN' MARIA I MET AT ORIENTATION. I knew I had seen her somewhere, and not just at Fillip's. The next few pictures are quite the same, except, after a few, the pictures are only of Tony, Lena and Maria. The red-head, and me, are gone from the pictures.

On the next page, there is a picture with a small button next to it, which I press. A small projection floats up from the picture and settles in front of me, and I realise that it's actually a video.

_A 2-year-old me runs around in Wonder Woman pyjamas, Tony and Pepper following suit trying to force me into a pretty white tutu. I squeal and run face first into a wall. Tony stands there laughing his head off while Pepper picks up a squirming me and pulls it over my head, staring apprehensively at Tony, who's still laughing his head off. Wheezing, Tony asks J.A.R.V.I.S if he had got that on recording. The A.I, unfortunately, had. Pepper sighed._

_"Jeez Tony. Your're so immature" _

_"Daddy iture!" I squeal, only to make both Tony and Pepper laugh. A doorbell rings and Tony leaves to arrive a minute later with Maria and Aunt Lena. Maria was wearing Batman pyjamas and pink ballet shoes. _

_"Scarlett! Scarlett, i is BATMAN. I even has a CAPE!" _

_"I wanda woman! I has tutuu!" _

_Tony laughs, and picks me and Maria up. _

_"How bout you two munchkins play in Scarlett's room." _

Then the video cuts to a new one.

* * *

_Aunty Lena's friend Clint chuckles as he stares at me piecing several duplo blocks together. _

_"I made a graffe!" I shouted, showing him the blob of duplo. Clint laughs._

_"I think you mean g__**i**__raffe" _

_"No. It's graffe. You can't speak proply" I say, even going so far as to put my hands on my hips._

_"Clint, we're ready! Bring the birthday girl in!" Aunty Lena calls from the kitchen. Laughing, Clint picks me up, muttering something about graffes. The scene changes to the kitchen where I'm on a chair, with my favourite Wonder Woman plushie on the table. I excitedly prepare to blow out the candles. and when I open my eyes, Maria has blown them out for me._

* * *

I remember this birthday, and the meltdown that followed. I flick through the videos and stop at my 9th birthday.

* * *

_I smile at Maria. We grasp our hands together and count to 3. And then we jump. _

_As we land in the water, I laugh triumphantly. We finally did the flip perfectly._

_"Scar, your friends will be arriving soon. You two should get out the pool and dry off," says Aunty Lena gently._

_"Mooooooommm, it's a pooooool party, we'll be back in the pool as soon as everybody arrives. Why do we have to get out?" Maria complains._

_"Mari, remember, you didn't actually arrive this early. You just got here when they start arriving."_

_"FIIIIIIIINE, Mom, but I get extra cake."_

The video then cuts to me and my elementary school friends sorting into teams for our party games.

_Mari looks lost, and I grab her by the hand and guide her to my team._

_"This is Maria."_

_"You can call me Mari." she says quietly._

_Thanks to Maria's amazing aim, we've easily won the water balloon fight, the dart contest, and the pin the tail on the donkey competition. The rest of my team has slowly warmed up to her._

_We're all in the pool laughing and splashing around. My best friend, Grace, swims up to me and says I should introduce Maria to the others. I agree and pull Maria out of the pool._

_We stand on the edge and I yell, "SILENCE! I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!" The pool goes quiet. _

_"This is Maria. You can call her Mari. She's my awesome cousin."_

_I point to each of my friends._

_"Jasmine, Kate, Grace, Emma, Pip, Lizzy, Jackie, Molly, Pepper, Lottie, Max, Jess, but everyone calls her AppleJack, and Brie."_

_Maria repeats the names under her breath._ _Aunty Lena then enters, holding a plate full of party pies, sausage rolls and all sorts of party goodies. Then the video cuts to black and the holographic projection dissapears. _

* * *

When I see the next picture, memories begin to flood my head, and they're not the good kind, but ones that sear your brain and your arms until you feel like rubber.

* * *

_I giggle and nudge Maria, who was staying over for my 10th birthday. _

_"Let's go have an adventure!" I whisper. We are watching Tom and Jerry on the TV. Maria agrees._

_"Let's go to the park!" she smiles._

_We walk across the floor and out the door. Laughing at our freedom, we run towards the park, and begin eagerly climbing on the play equipment. I reach the top of the rope first, and sit on the small platform, overlooking the sun setting on the city. Maria settles in next to me. _

_"Let's go see that abandonded warehouse!" I whisper to her, pointing to the old warehouse nearby._

_"Are you sure? I mean, there could be a bad guy hiding there. Bad guys always hide in old, abandoned warehouses, Scar. What if there is one?"_

_I snorted. "Mari, that's just in movies and stories! Come on!"_

_She reluctantly takes my hand and I drag her through the open doorway. After looking around for a bit, Mari freezes, and dashes behind a stack of old crates, taking me with her. She crouches and presses her finger to her lips._

_"Mari, there's nobody here, why are we hiding?" I say, worried._

_"Shush, Scar. I heard voices."_

_"But..." I trail off as I see a young woman with shaved auburn hair walk past, carrying a wicked looking knife. I gulp as she turns towards us._

_"Are you finished yet?" she says angrily to someone in the centre of the room. Mari and I turn towards the small man in a black uniform with a red octopus thingy on the shoulder._

_"Nearly" he growls._

_"Good. Once you're done, blow the place." the young woman says. _

_Mari looks scared and she begins to make her way out of the warehouse. I follow her tentatively but speed up when I hear a beeping noise._

_"Five minutes until it blows, Lady." the man says_

_Maria and I bolt._

_"Get to the grass dunes, Scarlett! It'll help protect us from the explosion!" Mari yells, and as we reach them, she pushes me down, just as the warehouse explodes. We haven't escaped the radius of the explosion and I watch on in fear as the building explodes. The force of the explosion is like nothing i've felt before, and not the kind of feeling you could describe. I watched in fear as Maria was knocked onto the ground with a sickening thud. She doesn't get up. Panting softly, I see a large piece of metal with a soft blue aura sail towards my. My brain tells me to run, move, do anything to avoid getting impaled, but my body refuses to respond. The metal lodges in my chest, and all I can mutter is a soft string of Russian swear words before I black out._

_I wake up in a hospital bed with the curtains shut. My dad is sitting on the end of my bed._

_"Ma r ia?" I croak out._

_"She..." Dad replies "She's okay."_

_"Can I see her?"_

_"I'm sorry, you can't right now. Head surgeon's orders. Besides, you should get some rest."_

_"Can I have some water?"_

_"Sorry, Scar, but you have a big surgery after they're done with Maria. You were in a much better state than her, so they decided to operate on her first."_

_I pull back my blankets and see the bluish shard in my chest. They must have cut it shorter, because it is way smaller than I remember._

_"Don't worry, that'll be gone by tomorrow. Just go back to sleep" he murmured._

* * *

I bite my lip as the memory recedes, and stare down at my shirt . I decide to go out for a little while to clear my head. 5 minutes later I'm in my suit, and on the roof. Flexing my fingers, I jump off the building and do a couple of backflips mid-air before I engage my thrusters and fly to the nearest McDonalds.

"3 cheeseburgers please" I ask, snickering as the cashier doesn't look down, merely gaping at me. 5 minutes later, thanks to super-speed, I'm at Maria's house with a stack of stuff.


End file.
